This will be the shortest article I’ve ever written here due to the title of this piece.
Good news: There are no longer heavy branches scraping half the shingles of our roof–and by the looks of this overgrown tree, you can see that everything here grows with alarming vigor.
Bad news: I’m afraid of heights, I had no proper work shoes, don’t do wood saws, and had no one watching me in case I fell off the roof.
Other than those things, all I have to show for yesterday is a nicely trimmed tree, burned feet–man, that roof was HOT!–and a sprained elbow. Icing it now, which is why I can’t write much.
Wisdom: NEVER climb onto the roof of any house without a cell phone, or a neighbor watching out for you, especially if you’re as inexperienced at tree trimming as I am. Always wear shoes, not sandals, not bare feet, when you’re working in the garden or in the trees. Never work in the heat of the day. If and when you do these things and suffer for it, make sure your ice bag doesn’t have a leak and that the water you drink to replenish your fluids isn’t too cold. Oh, and if you decide to pull weeds instead of using poison (I prefer the exercise) wear gardening gloves. Tumble weeds can bite.
Happy August!
Christians Read 
I thank you for this sound advice. Having had tree issues, it’s worth adding that trimming a live tree too much will result in a slow death of said tree. It really is all about science in our green world out there.
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Thank you for the warning, Paula. I was thinking as I stood up on that roof that maybe August wasn’t the best month to trim, so I hope I haven’t killed two trees. I think the month has to have an R in it in order to trim safely. But I’m not a gardener.
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